Her
by Joseph C. P. Christopher
Onye ka m ga-ako.ro.?1 Her world was bulb-whole, then it became a shredded
cabbage. When it rended, we knew
it will never heal. We knew healing
comes from the grave where father
now soothes earth's aching
muscles. We knew the river that once
fed into her ocean full of tasty delight
was now dried as bones. Gradually, she became invincible, nursing deep and
poignant grief, afraid of many things
only the mind reads like a book. Onye ka
m ga-ako.ro.? She dissipates like twigs aflame within a hearth. I saw
that as I lay in my bed one night - mother was hostaged in her shadow,
afraid of remaining without father, even in the warmth of her children; afraid that the
harp of petty and petulant quarreling
and concessions which once syringed
the beauty of their bond had stopped
rollicking in charms. In the end,
no one wants to be alone; everyone
wants to be free but locked in the feathers
of love fur. Mother desires that more
than ever. Onye ka m ga-ako.ro.? The sore
in her womb explains the furies of lonely waters, and rips her in shreds. If you
listened carefully, you would hear the veins in her chest stretching for father, stretching,
just to touch the pinnacle of father's memories. If you listened closely,
you would hear her beckoning father
to the stewing warmth of her breasts.
Onye ka m ga-ko.ro.? Onye?2
–
1 Who shall I tell? (Igbo)2 Who? (Igbo)
Joseph C.P. Christopher is a poet. He is the author of Salient Whispers (2014) which was shortlisted for ANA/Chevron award for poetry in 2014 and his newest collection is titled Dust in the Rain (2020). His works have appeared in Aurora Journal, The Hellebore Press, Praxis Literary Magazine, Lunaris Review, and are forthcoming in Beir Bua Journal, The Tide Rises Literary Journal, Ample Remains Journal, Sturgeon Review, Derailleur Press to name a few. He is currently a doctoral candidate with Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria. He lives in Abuja.